REPORT: Car bomb explosion rocks Hermel, casualties reported [PHOTOS...

5^min

A car bomb exploded near a local government building in the Lebanese town of Hermel on Thursday morning, killing at least three people and wounding 40 persons.

One of the victims was identified as Hussein Mohammad Amr, a Lebanese worker at the Hermel's municipality.

Security sources told LBCI that a suicide bomber had detonated the explosive laden vehicle, a black Kia SUV parked on the side of the road near a bank.

The sources said the vehicle used in Hermel car bomb attack is a Kia Sportage holding registration plate number 55597/B, which belongs to Nazareth Tohanian and was stolen from Antelias in November.

This as, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawar al-Sahili said the bomb used in Hermel attack weighed 35 kilograms of TNT.

Meanwhile, the Internal Security Forces called on the citizens to leave the explosion site for their safety and in order for the ambulances to be able to transfer the wounded persons to hospitals.

For his part, caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil called on the hospitals to open their doors and receive all the wounded persons and provide them with the necessary treatment, noting that preliminary information say that three people were killed, in addition to body parts found at the scene.

In turn, the Lebanese Red Cross Operations Director George Kettaneh told LBCI that the wounded persons were transferred to al-Batoul Hospital and al-Assi Hospital, noting that two of the injured are in a critical condition.

The State Commissioner to the Military court Judge Saqr Saqr sent a judicial request to the Lebanese army directorate, the military police and the Criminal Evidence, calling on them to conduct the preliminary investigation.

Judge Saqr also appointed Judge Kamal Nassar to head to the region of Hermel in order to examine the crime scene.

For his part, Hermel’s Mayor Sobhi Saqr stated that the booby-trapped car arrived thirty minutes before the explosion and parked on the side of the road near Societe Generale bank, adding that the grenade found at the crime scene is not related to the explosion.

Hermel is in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley near its northern border with Syria and is known as a stronghold of Hezbollah.

It was the latest in a wave of attacks to hit Lebanon in recent months as the civil war in Syria increasingly spills over into its smaller neighbor.

The violence has targeted both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods, further stoking sectarian tensions that are already running high as each community in Lebanon lines up behind its brethren in Syria on opposing sides of the war.

Reactions:

President Michel Sleiman said that protecting Lebanon against the terrorism requires solidarity among the leaders and the people and imposes the quick formation of a national unity cabinet capable of facing the challenges.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati followed up on the developments concerning the Hermel explosion, calling on the National Committee of Disaster Management headed by Major General Mohammed Khair and the High Relief Committee to keep up with the situation on the ground, take the necessary measures and examine the damages.

Mikati reiterated his condemnation of the terrorist attacks that aim at creating chaos in the country and threaten the security of the Lebanese people.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan told LBCI that the real response to the acts of terrorism is the formation of a national unity cabinet capable of fighting against terrorism, calling on all the Lebanese people to remain attached to the national unity.

In turn, the Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani denounced the Hermel attack, describing it as a criminal act that strikes Lebanon’s security and stability. He called on the authorities to intensify their measures in a bid to unveil the identities of those behind the criminal operations.

Similarly, the Future bloc denounced the terrorist crime that targeted the town of Hermel, noting that such act serves the interests of Lebanon’s enemies.

Army Command:

The Army Command - Orientation Directorate said an explosive laden vehicle went off outside a local government building in Hermel, claiming the lives of 3 citizens, injuring others and causing heavy material damages.

Lebanese Armed Forces Units had immediately intervened and cordoned off the area while a military police unit arrived along with experts who examined the scene of explosion as well as body parts found near the car bomb, the Army Command added.

AP/REUTERS/LBCI

To watch the first moments after the Hermel explosion, click here

To watch Maroun Nassif's report, please click on the VIDEO above